▲ Scene of the collapsed building
A boarding house for university students collapsed in India's capital of New Delhi, leaving 5 people dead and dozens trapped.
According to Indian media outlets such as NDTV on September 7, a 5-story building with one basement level located in the Satya Niketan area of southwestern New Delhi suddenly collapsed the previous afternoon.
Immediately following the accident, authorities launched rescue operations and pulled 4 bodies from the rubble.
Another person who sustained severe injuries was rescued and transported to a hospital, but died shortly after.
Authorities rescued 9 survivors from the wreckage through overnight operations.
However, 5 of them are reportedly in critical condition, meaning the death toll could rise further.
It is reported that dozens of people are still trapped beneath the rubble of the collapsed building, waiting for rescue.
While authorities have not disclosed the exact number of trapped individuals, some media outlets reported that up to 50 people were inside the building at the time of the collapse.
The accident-stricken building, located near the South Campus of Delhi University, has been used as a boarding house for college students.
Immediately after the accident, residents of an adjacent building also evacuated due to the risk of collapse.
Local television broadcasts showed rescue authorities pulling a young man out of the debris and footage of a trapped person's face pinned beneath a concrete slab.
The Satya Niketan area is known to host hundreds of Delhi University students in boarding houses.
Police are investigating the cause of the accident targeting the building owner and others, based on witness statements that the accident occurred while renovation work was underway in the basement of the building, which is over 50 years old.
Building collapses are frequent in India.
Incidents often involve the collapse of illegal structures inhabited by migrant workers and college students, or occur when heavy rain weakens building foundations during the monsoon season from June to September.
In New Delhi last year, a residential building collapse in the northeastern district killed at least 11 people.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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